NASCAR’s common season champion Tyler Reddick was having a powerful run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the Stage 1 win already within the bag till lap 89, when his 2024 Cup Collection Championship hopes suffered a literal coincidence.
It was on the restart — Reddick made a run on the surface to go three-wide with Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. beneath him via Turns 3 and 4. Battling for fourth place on monitor, Truex drifted up on nook exit, placing Elliott in a tough place. He tried to carry, nevertheless it was too late. The Hendrick Motorsports star made contact with the charging Reddick and each drivers spun down the monitor. They moved throughout the entrance stretch, amassing Brad Keselowski and all three automobiles spun uncontrolled via the infield grass.
Tyler Reddick spins
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
It was pretty normal for a restart wreck — till Reddick’s automobile crossed over from the grass to the asphalt part that makes up Turns 3/4 within the Legends automobile oval. He went fully sideways going through pit highway — the automobile hopping up off the bottom.
Tyler Reddick’s automobile lifts up off the bottom
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
The automobile was already leaning when the right-side tires returned to Earth. It dug into the grass, combating towards it for a short second earlier than lastly rolling ahead.
Tyler Reddick’s automobile digs into the grass
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
The automobile laid on the passenger aspect door as Keselowski’s automobile made its approach again up the monitor. Each Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney hit the surface wall as they tried to keep away from the orange No. 6 Ford. Within the background, Elliott’s automobile additionally hopped throughout the paved a part of the infield, however his No. 9 Chevrolet didn’t flip, fortunately.
Tyler Reddick begins to roll as Brad Keselowki spins again throughout the monitor
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
Reddick’s automobile was totally the other way up when it returned to the pavement, skidding throughout the restart zone with grass and grime flying.
Tyler Reddick rolls
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
Not like blowovers like Corey LaJoie at Michigan and Josh Berry at Daytona, this automobile didn’t keep on its roof for very lengthy. The No. 45 Toyota by no means stopped rotating, persevering with to roll ahead whereas totally on the apron.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Jordan Model Toyota Camry flips within the infield grass
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
The automobile was lastly right-side up once more because it exited the restart zone and reached the beginning/end line. Fortunately for Reddick, this was a single-flip rollover.
Tyler Reddick’s automobile continues to roll
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
After simply three seconds from the second the automobile initially hopped off the bottom, Reddick was again on all 4 wheels. The automobile did a single roll earlier than slamming again down on its wheels.
Tyler Reddick’s again on all fours
Photograph by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
Most impressively, Reddick was nonetheless in a position to drive the automobile. He limped the No. 45 to his pit stall, however the harm was too important for him to proceed racing.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Jordan Model Toyota Camry
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
As confirmed by Seth Eggert — often known as the resident ‘stat man’ in NASCAR circles — this was the primary NASCAR inventory automobile to flip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 24 years and simply the third to ever achieve this. Shane Corridor flipped in testing in 2000 and in 1998, Randy LaJoie flipped in a NASCAR Xfinity race at Las Vegas. That is additionally the fourth rollover crash of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season with the others occurring at Daytona (Berry), Talladega (LaJoie), and Michigan (LaJoie).
Reddick took duty for the aggressive transfer that led to the crash, saying: “By the point I noticed I used to be in hassle, it was simply too late … I wanted to make the choice earlier after I noticed them sliding. Simply be a bit extra conservative. That will have prevented the incident. Simply not who I’m, not what we do.”
The flip left Reddick unscathed, however the identical can’t be mentioned for his championship hopes. He’s now 30 factors under the cut-line, firmly within the elimination zone with two races left within the Spherical of 8.
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